Goran Lolic was voted as Chair of the Judges Committee and therefore was appointed to the BOD for the first time at the last Congress in 2021. He has been involved in a number of IRF committees for many years before this, namely the Judges Committee, the Sport & Competition Committee, and the Euro Race Committee. He has often been Head Judge at Euro or World Championships. Goran is heavily involved in the management of this year’s World Rafting Championship in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We spoke to Goran to find out more.

Can you give us a short history of your rafting experience

I started with rafting in 2003 when we established Rafting club KANJON in Banja Luka. Since then we organized many rafting sports events and also many recreation and ecologic events too. Since 2006 I have been an international Race Judge.

Why did you get involved with rafting?

As many of us I started out of pure curiosity and adventure and very soon it become a passion.

What do you hope to achieve in your time on the BOD in the next few years?

I’m honored that I am a member of BOD and I hope that we will have 40+ National federations officially recognised by their government and NOC and IRF will become full members of GAISF in the next two years.

What plans have you developed for the next two years?

I would like to continue where the previous head of Judges com, Jozef Kytka, stopped. We want to establish an Online judges workshop which was started a few days ago and to improve it and make it better and to have more judges all over the world. We want to improve our judging in general by updating our Race Rules, Judge`s Handbook, workbooks and procedures, etc.

Are there any other activities / sports you are involved with? How does this influence / impact on your time with rafting?

I’m involved in whitewater canoeing through the Bosnian canoe federation.

What is your favourite rafting destination and why?

I have visited many rivers in the last 20 years but still Vrbas is my favourite.

Which is your favourite WRC or ERC and why?

WRC Banja Luka 2009 :)

What is your favourite sport to watch on TV?

Alpine skiing, F1 and snooker.

What TV series did you binge watch during the pandemic?

Mostly cartoons with my kids.

If you could host a celebrity dinner party, which five guests would you invite and why (they can be living or deceased)?

This is easy: Sean Clarke, Eric Boudreau, Alex Pastir, JP Turcotte and Dragan Babic.